Fan Studies is a thriving field, however little work has been done to date on fandoms that pre-date modern media, and often when that work is done it is not framed as a study of a particular fandom or a particular fan practice. There have been studies of Bardolotry and Byromania, tantalizing references to fan practices associated with early novels such as Pamela and The Wild Irish Girl, a scant few mentions of early music fandom, but often these explorations are tied to issues of celebrity, theater history, and the book trade (among many others). Rarely, if ever, do “fans” – avid readers, theater-goers, concert-goers, producers of transformative works, cultural influencers – enter into the conversation. It is clear that scholars across several fields are talking about the same things yet using significantly different reference points. We invite proposals for papers on any aspect of early fan practices. Papers will also be considered for a special issue of Participations to be published in December 2019. Please send abstracts of 250 words to Cait Coker (cait.coker @ gmail.com) and Katherine Larsen (klarsen@ gwu.edu) by September 1, 2018.